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What is software craftsmanship?

In a conversation with Patrick Welsh today, and his take on it was that a craftsman is someone who:

Writes small methods.

Uses excellent names.

Keeps modules small.

Test drives code.

The context of this is that it is possible to do all of these things in Javascript. Claiming that JS is fundamentally different from Java (or any other modern language) is a poor excuse for not being a craftsman.

I tend to agree with him, and disagree with John Marx's statement that you can be a software craftsman without doing the above things. I think that John's point was that technique != mindset. My disagreement is that at the current time, using these techniques is the way to be a craftsman. As techniques and tools evolve, the definition of craftsmanship will evolve.

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